Positively Filipino, Philippine News, TheFilamLA sweep 3rd Plaridel Awards

PAPC awardees Arnold Perdigal, Vivian Zalvidea Araullo, Janet and Ruben Nepales. PHOTO BY GARY DE GUZMAN/MANILA MAIL

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, California – Several Filipino American community journalists received this year’s Plaridel Awards for Excellence in Filipino American Journalism from the Philippine American Press Club US (PAPC) at a gala dinner at the Fort McKinley Restaurant in South San Francisco on October 2.

San Jose native Azenith Smith, KTVU general assignment reporter, keynote speaker at the Third Plaridel Awards ceremony, encouraged journalists to keep pursuing their career goals. Smith traced her start in Filipino community journalism as a reporter with The Filipino Channel and recalled her unrelenting effort to become a mainstream journalist, particularly with KTVU News.

Runaway winner with the most Plaridel victories was Positively Filipino, which garnered six crystal wedge trophies in six categories, namely: Best International Reporting, Entertainment Story/Mila de Guzman’s “Indie with a Mission”; Best Sports Story/Joseph Bautista of Escabo Daan Martial Arts with “A New Path Through Eskabo Daan”; Best Personal Story/Lotis Key’s “White Men Can’t Jumpstart” and Best Profile Writing/Titchie Tiongson with “The Thoroughly Modern Sofia de Veyra.” Ken Kashiwahara, former ABC TV News reporter, won the Best Feature Writing award with his piece “Ninoy’s Final Journey” published with the two-year-old e-zine Positively Filipino.

Philippine News and The FilAmLA came second both winning in two categories. The Philippine News for Investigative or In-Depth Story/Neil Gonzales’ “A Force in State’s Energy Battles Parts 1 & II, and the Best Food Story/ Cherie Querol Moreno’s “Adobo May Have French Roots.”

One-year-old online gazette, The FilAmLA also won in two categories, Best Youth Voice/Lawrence Ochoa, “Somethings Stand the Test of Time from the Boomers to Millennials” and Best Tourism Feature Story/Cecile Ochoa with her article “ World Traveler Odette Ricasa: 247 Countries and Counting.”

Atty. Ted Laguatan, a columnist of INQUIRER.net won the Best Commentary Category with his opinion piece, “China’s military base in Philippine territory must absolutely be blocked.” Joseph Lariosa of Philippine Daily Mirror received the Best News Story award with his article “CHP Report: Limo Fire an Accident.” Power ng Pinoy TV won the Plaridel for Best Television Community Reporting with its “Million People March” broadcast. Laurel Fantauzzo, won the President’s Choice award with her article on “How to survive a super typhoon: Batanes” which appeared on Buzzfeed.com.

Esther Chavez, PAPC president said there were three times entries this year than the first year. She looked forward to seeing more entries from Fil-Am journalists all over the US next year. Entries must have been published in a bona-fide media company. Entry Guidelines and other information can be found at www.papcusa.org/plaridel-awards.

The Plaridel Awards was launched in 2012 to celebrate the work of Filipino American journalists as they chronicle the lives of their kababayans in the US or the communities they live in. It takes inspiration from Marcelo H. Del Pilar, 19th century Filipino hero and expat-publisher who pursued journalism while in exile. Plaridel was his nom de plume.

Mona Lisa Yuchengco, Positively Filipino publisher and Western Union’s Bob Fan. PHOTO BY GARY DE GUZMAN/MANILA MAIL

Two outstanding leaders in the community were presented the “Torch Bearer Award.” They were former Philippine Tourism Director for the San Francisco North West Area, Rene de los Santos and Rudy Asercion, former executive director of the WestBay Pilipino Multi-Service Center. A posthumous award for “Outstanding Community Service through radio broadcasting” was presented to the widow of Robert Henry, East West Radio Host, who passed away this year.

Rick Rocamora, acclaimed Filipino photojournalist, did a slide presentation to encourage more journalists to enhance their coverage with compelling pictures.

Emcees for the evening were father-daughter tandem, Ness Caroline Ocampo – host and producer of the Filipino American Network Radio that produced the FilAm Now – FilAm Ngayon. Executives from proud sponsors who handed the awards to the winers were Bob Fan of Western Union, Fiona Chan of Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Consul Reichel Quinones representing the Philippine Tourism Department San Francisco, Esther Chavez, Inquirer.net, and Sol Solleza of Philippine Airlines.

RELATED STORIES

Community journalists win Phil-Am Press Club awards

FilAm press club celebrates excellence in journalism with its first Plaridel Awards